‘The Monkey’ is a Barrelfull of Mania

Harpoon bolts to the stomach, electrically exploded bodies and bowling balls dropped on mushy heads — “The Monkey” is a merciless sideshow.

Directed by Osgood Perkins and based on Stephen King’s 30-page short story of the same name, “The Monkey” follows two brothers tormented by a murderous, wind-up monkey doll.

Twins Hal and Bill Shelburn find the mysterious toy in their absent father’s closet. When wound up, the monkey hypnotically beats a drum and only stops when a passerby dies. Realizing the connection, Hal and Bill destroy the toy in their youth — only to rediscover it 25 years later.

Perkins (“Longlegs,” “The Blackcoat’s Daughter”) eases off the atmospheric dread present in his prior work, instead favoring the short story’s black humor. Perkins directs “The Monkey” less as a supernatural horror and more like a gore-infested episode of “Wipeout.”

Through shotgun blasts to the torso, merciless livestock tramplings and Hibachi knife play gone wrong Perkins depicts human anatomy as a comically fragile, overfilled water balloon.

Playing the adolescent Hal and Bill, Christian Convery depicts both brothers with palpable angst. Convery (“Sweet Tooth,” “Cocaine Bear”) as Hal hides a brewing rage behind meekness, but as Bill he steps into the boots of an older brother bully.

Convery convincingly treats each twin as if played by different actors. The boys’ discovery of the monkey and its complex, situational murders — a simple gas leak snowballing into a woman’s impalement on a rental sign — lends lunacy to a cruel coming-of-age story.

The film utilizes recurring hallmarks present in many King (“The Shining,” “Misery”) novels and adaptations. Overly cruel bullies, absent familial figures and a rural Maine setting make “The Monkey” feel right at home amongst a theater marquee showing “Cujo” or “IT.”

Playing the elder Shelburn brothers, Theo James soaks in the outlandish plot, dealing out dual hammy performances. James (“The White Lotus,” “The Gentlemen”) as adult Hal is affable if not atypical, while his rendition of Bill folds into being a basket case.

In adulthood, Hal sequesters himself from his loved ones in fear of the monkey returning. Bill also becomes a hermit, but out of a depressive spite to distance himself from painful memories of the homicidal toy.

When the monkey returns, it’s in tandem with Hal’s last week of custody over his son, Petey. Hal and Bill’s shared conflict questions whether shutting out loved ones is in their best interests, even if it seemingly protects them.

“The Monkey” lives and dies with its darkly fun, yet simple premise. When the film attempts a deep commentary on absent father figures, the floor falls out from beneath the shaky story.

Turning a 30-page short story into a 98-minute movie is no easy feat, but the bones of King’s short story leave little room to support a feature film without significant creative overhauls.

“The Monkey” entertains most when it doesn’t stray from its delightfully deadpan tone and Rube Goldberg-inspired kills. The film’s crass, sarcastic dialogue is ripped straight from King’s best work, and the evil monkey’s ambiguity aids the mysterious spectacle.

“The Monkey” is best when in the business of murder.

“The Monkey,” rated R, comes to theaters Feb. 21.